Chapter 562 - 347: Zog’s War Preparations

Chapter 562: Chapter 347: Zog’s War Preparations

There was a time, thanks to the influence of countless movies and TV shows, when Zog imagined intelligence work was all about highly-trained super spies—the elite of the elite, engaged in thrilling battles of wits. At the very least, he thought, it would involve understanding the basic principles of audio recording.

However, after reading some declassified intelligence reports online, that glamorous image was completely shattered.

It just proved the theory that everyone is just making it up as they go along.

It wasn’t that there were no historical events as thrilling and brutal as those in the movies. But for the most part, the work was relatively dull and boring, and quite a few secrets were leaked in rather absurd ways.

Things blurted out by drunks, or secrets accidentally revealed by people talking in their sleep.

And with the advent of the internet, that absurdity reached a whole new level.

Someone arguing about whether a plane’s design was realistic in an air combat game and leaking actual fighter jet blueprints to prove their point.

Someone getting into a pointless argument about geopolitics in a gaming forum, only for the other person—who turned out to be a real government employee—to get so worked up they posted classified government documents.

Incidents like these seemed to happen every so often.

So when Zog received the first intelligence report from Long Jing—also known as 9527—he was only surprised for a moment.

He quickly accepted that such crucial information had been leaked by a spoiled brat who’d gotten desperate to prove his identity online.

Luck. It could sway the course of events just that easily.

was also pretty ruthless. The moment he got the intel, he deleted the account—which he’d registered with a fake identity in the first place.

’The kid poured his heart out trying to prove who he was. The least you could do is reply, "Okay, I believe you’re the Duke’s son," before you ghost him.’

After that hit-and-run, Zog could just imagine how miserable that poor brat must be. ’He’s probably losing sleep over it.’

Long Jing’s report not only contained Duke Welton’s invasion plan but also detailed his own subsequent actions.

According to Long Jing, he had already created a new account to continue his plan of getting close to the Duke’s son by gaming with him. He’d successfully joined the brat’s regular squad.

His various flashy tactics were a huge hit with the Duke’s son. As they grew closer, he was even granted unlimited internet time, essentially becoming the boy’s personal gaming companion.

At the same time, this veteran swindler proved to be a master of manipulation.

Whenever the Duke caught his son gaming, Long Jing would, with impeccable timing, be in the middle of encouraging him to study.

He would even occasionally help the boy’s tutors, which left the Duke with a rather good impression of him.

’A professional swindler’s social skills are just too overpowered.’

Then, at an opportune moment, Long Jing "accidentally" discovered the chat history showing that the boy had leaked the documents online.

The brat had a nagging feeling he’d done something wrong, so he hadn’t told anyone. When Long Jing found out, the boy panicked, but Long Jing promised to keep his secret.

And just like that, Long Jing’s status was instantly elevated from an entertaining gaming buddy to a trusted friend. He had successfully infiltrated the Duke’s Mansion.

’It was a real waste having him work customer service.’

Zog couldn’t help but marvel after finishing Long Jing’s report.

Zog had actually taken a saturation approach to infiltrating Loman, dispatching a vast number of agents.

Besides Long Jing and his old associates, he had recruited a large number of people from all walks of life. Their common traits were that they were either desperate for money or simply enjoyed espionage. They had all entered Loman through various channels.

And they had gathered a good deal of information.

One thing was certain: Loman was extremely confident in its current military strength and was determined to wage a large-scale war.

Their plan seemed to be to form an alliance with a few key partners and then declare war on all remaining nations.

A rather audacious plan.

And Sutton was designated as a potential ally.

Zog had been wondering how they planned to convince the Sutton Kingdom to join them in challenging the rest of the world.

Until Long Jing’s report arrived.

The intelligence was incomplete, of course. The brat hadn’t photographed the entire document, which was quite long. He had only taken pictures of the first few pages, especially the ones with the official seals.

But even this was enough to glean plenty of useful information.

The invasion wouldn’t launch until summer; the climate in the Northern Domain was simply too harsh otherwise.

This gave both Loman and the Northern Domain a relatively ample amount of time to prepare.

The document stated with high confidence that the Sutton Royal Family and other fiefdoms would not provide aid, but it specifically noted that Deepwater City might be an exception.

This proved Loman had a thorough understanding of Sutton’s internal affairs.

One point of particular interest was that the document specified the attack should be launched concurrently with the new King of Sutton’s ascension. The goal was to capture the Northern Domain and bring all of Sutton under the new King’s complete control.

’Interesting.’

They seemed very certain about when the new king would take the throne.

But it was common knowledge that the old man in the Royal City was "stubbornly clinging to life."

Forgive Zog for the description; he had no particular relationship with the current King of Sutton. Besides, the old King’s reputation within his own kingdom was terrible—to put it mildly, he was widely reviled.

For Loman to be so certain about the timing of the succession meant they had the ability to determine when the old King would die.

’Someone inside the Royal Family has been turned.’

That would also explain their confidence that Sutton would become an ally.

’Someone in the Royal Family is willing to sell out their own kingdom for the throne.’

In that case, a better idea formed in Zog’s mind. ’Why not install a more... progressive king?’

’If that throne is fit for a traitor, then why not for Figxin?’

Zog considered this. If the goal was to make Figxin the new King of Sutton, the most convenient plan would be to eliminate the Kingdom’s main obstacles on their own home turf.

Following that line of thought, when Duke Welton invaded, they should fight the battle to a stalemate.